By Dave Andrusko

I did not see the program at the time; I heard about it through an email forwarded to me by a friend this morning. Last night, ESPN's "Outside the Lines" did an update on former Carolina Panther receiver Rae Carruth. (I was subsequently able to watch it online this morning at http://espn.go.com/blog/nfcsouth/tag/_/name/outside-the-lines

Chancellor Lee Adams and his grandmother, Saundra Adams, work with his physical therapist.

That name will ring a bell with veteran pro-lifers. A decade ago Carruth was convicted of three counts in the murder of his pregnant girlfriend Cherica Adams--conspiracy to commit murder, shooting into an occupied vehicle, and using a gun to try to kill an unborn child. Miraculously her unborn child, named Chancellor, survived but with grave injuries.

Ironically, Carruth was sentenced on January 22, 2001, for the November 16, 1999, execution-style murder of Ms. Adams. Carruth received a sentence of 18 years and 11 months in prison. He escaped the death penalty because the jury did not convict him of first-degree murder.

Carruth continues to insist he is innocent. But after the 24-year-old Adams died, Carruth fled to Tennessee. According to the Charlotte Observer, FBI agents found him "hiding in the trunk of a friend's car at a motel."

At his trial, he refused to take the stand. Two of his co-defendants, including Watkins, testified against Carruth. One of Carruth's ex-girlfriends said that "Carruth confessed involvement in the shooting as they waited at the hospital," the Charlotte Observer reported. Another girlfriend testified that Carruth "threatened to have her killed if she did not abort a 1998 pregnancy."

The ESPN program focused on Chancellor, who suffers from Cerebral Palsy, and his devoted grandmother, Saundra Adams--and the hit man, Van Brett Watkins.

Saundra Adams told ESPN reporter Kelly Naqi that ten-year-old Chancellor is "Such a joy, and a blessing," adding proudly, "I call him my miracle boy." But in Naqi's words, Chancellor's life is "A life spent trying to recover from the sins of his father."

According to the prosecution, Carruth was the father of Cherica Adams' baby, but didn't want to pay child support.

As I wrote at the time,

"Prosecutors said that Carruth masterminded the shooting because Ms. Adams wouldn't have an abortion, according to the Charlotte Observer. According to the newspaper, several witnesses testified that Carruth opted for killing Cherica after he failed in his first plan: 'To have her beaten up so she would have a miscarriage.'"

Cherica Adams somehow survived being shot four times. Doctors performed an emergency Caesarean section. Chancellor Lee Adams survived, but because his oxygen had been cut off, he suffers from Cerebral Palsy. Cherica Adams lapsed into a coma the following day and died a month later. (You can read the entire background at http://www.nrlc.org/news/2001/NRL02/carruth.html.)

Chancellor is making strides. According to Naqi, he has learned to walk 150 steps without assistance. Watching him on screen he is severely limited, but appears to be a loving and gentle little boy.

I will not spoil it by telling you the ending to the piece. Suffice it to say, some will be appalled while others will see it as an amazing act of grace. Again you can view "The Rae Carruth Story: 10 Years Later" at http://espn.go.com/blog/nfcsouth/tag/_/name/outside-the-lines.

Please send your comments to daveandrusko@gmail.com. Thank you!